5,940 research outputs found
Gauge Theory in d=2+1 at High Temperature: Z_N interface
We calculate on the lattice the interface tension in the SU(2) pure gauge
theory in d=2+1 at high temperature. The result is compared to the perturbative
prediction. The agreement confirms applicability of the perturbation theory in
this case.Comment: Lattice'94 contribution, 3pp, uuencoded compressed postscrip
Local Decoders for the 2D and 4D Toric Code
We analyze the performance of decoders for the 2D and 4D toric code which are
local by construction. The 2D decoder is a cellular automaton decoder
formulated by Harrington which explicitly has a finite speed of communication
and computation. For a model of independent and errors and faulty
syndrome measurements with identical probability we report a threshold of
for this Harrington decoder. We implement a decoder for the 4D toric
code which is based on a decoder by Hastings arXiv:1312.2546 . Incorporating a
method for handling faulty syndromes we estimate a threshold of for
the same noise model as in the 2D case. We compare the performance of this
decoder with a decoder based on a 4D version of Toom's cellular automaton rule
as well as the decoding method suggested by Dennis et al.
arXiv:quant-ph/0110143 .Comment: 22 pages, 21 figures; fixed typos, updated Figures 6,7,8,
Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy: Pathophysiology, Genetics and Invasive Treatment
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the most common inheritable cardiac disorder
with a phenotypic prevalence of 1:500. It is defined by the presence of left ventricular
hypertrophy (LVH) in the absence of loading conditions (hypertension, valve disease)
sufficient to cause the observed abnormality. Hundreds of mutations scattered among at
least 25 putative HCM susceptibility genes encoding various sarcomere, Z-disk, calciumhandling,
and mitochondrial proteins are known to cause HCM and are found in up to
60% of cases. Besides the genetic heterogeneity, HCM is also characterized by phenotypic
heterogeneity; ranging from negligible to extreme hypertrophy, absent or severe
left ventricular outflow tract obstruction, normal longevity or premature sudden cardiac
death (SCD), even in patients carrying the same pathogenic HCM mutation.
Since the introduction of HCM as a clinical entity in 1958, extensive research has
been performed regarding diagnosis, prognosis, therapy and genetics. However, correct
diagnosis and optimal management of HCM patients and their asymptomatic affected
family members still offers difficulties to the physician.
This thesis describes the findings of HCM patients followed at the ErasmusMC in
Rotterdam for years. It is directed towards the different pheno- and genotypical aspects
of this disease. Furthermore results of basic sarcomere investigations, pathophysiologic
characteristics to explain clinical findings, therapeutic measures both with and without
surgery and natural history are described
Gender and cultural influences upon career choices in science and mathematics
The purpose of this paper is to synthesize and analyze the research literature related to the relationship of gender and cultural differences and the impact it may have on career choices within the science or mathematics fields. The following questions will be addressed. 1. To what extent, if any, are gender related differences identifiable in the learning of science and/or mathematics objectives? 2. What is the impact of ethnic/cultural differences on science and/or mathematics learning? 3. What is the relationship of gender or cultural differences to career choices in the science and/or mathematics field
Demixing can occur in binary hard-sphere mixtures with negative non-additivity
A binary fluid mixture of non-additive hard spheres characterized by a size
ratio and a non-additivity parameter
is considered in infinitely many
dimensions. From the equation of state in the second virial approximation
(which is exact in the limit ) a demixing transition with a
critical consolute point at a packing fraction scaling as
is found, even for slightly negative non-additivity, if
. Arguments concerning the stability of the
demixing with respect to freezing are provided.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures; title changed; final paragraph added; to be
published in PRE as a Rapid Communicatio
Anti-pheromone as a tool for better exploration of search space
Many animals use chemical substances known as pheromones to induce behavioural changes in other members of the same species. The use of pheromones by ants in particular has lead to the development of a number of computational analogues of ant colony behaviour including Ant Colony Optimisation. Although many animals use a range of pheromones in their communication, ant algorithms have typically focused on the use of just one, a substance that encourages succeeding generations of (artificial) ants to follow the same path as previous generations. Ant algorithms for multi-objective optimisation and those employing multiple colonies have made use of more than one pheromone, but the interactions between these different pheromones are largely simple extensions of single criterion, single colony ant algorithms. This paper investigates an alternative form of interaction between normal pheromone and anti-pheromone. Three variations of Ant Colony System that apply the anti-pheromone concept in different ways are described and tested against benchmark travelling salesman problems. The results indicate that the use of anti-pheromone can lead to improved performance. However, if anti-pheromone is allowed too great an influence on ants' decisions, poorer performance may result
Ageing effects around the glass and melting transitions in poly(dimethylsiloxane) visualized by resistance measurements
The process of ageing in rubbers requires monitoring over long periods (days
to years). To do so in non-conducting rubbers, small amounts of carbon-black
particles were dispersed in a fractal network through the rubber matrix, to
make the rubber conducting without modifying its properties. Continuous
monitoring of the resistance reveals the structural changes around the glass
and melting transitions and especially details about the hysteresis and ageing
processes. We illustrate the method for the semicrystalline polymer
poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS).Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
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The causal effect of red blood cell folate on genome-wide methylation in cord blood: a Mendelian randomization approach
Background: Investigation of the biological mechanism by which folate acts to affect fetal development can inform appraisal of expected benefits and risk management. This research is ethically imperative given the ubiquity of folic acid fortified products in the US. Considering that folate is an essential component in the one-carbon metabolism pathway that provides methyl groups for DNA methylation, epigenetic modifications provide a putative molecular mechanism mediating the effect of folic acid supplementation on neonatal and pediatric outcomes. Results: In this study we use a Mendelian Randomization Unnecessary approach to assess the effect of red blood cell (RBC) folate on genome-wide DNA methylation in cord blood. Site-specific CpG methylation within the proximal promoter regions of approximately 14,500 genes was analyzed using the Illumina Infinium Human Methylation27 Bead Chip for 50 infants from the Epigenetic Birth Cohort at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. Using methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase genotype as the instrument, the Mendelian Randomization approach identified 7 CpG loci with a significant (mostly positive) association between RBC folate and methylation level. Among the genes in closest proximity to this significant subset of CpG loci, several enriched biologic processes were involved in nucleic acid transport and metabolic processing. Compared to the standard ordinary least squares regression method, our estimates were demonstrated to be more robust to unmeasured confounding. Conclusions: To the authors’ knowledge, this is the largest genome-wide analysis of the effects of folate on methylation pattern, and the first to employ Mendelian Randomization to assess the effects of an exposure on epigenetic modifications. These results can help guide future analyses of the causal effects of periconceptional folate levels on candidate pathways
Solwind observations of coronal mass ejections during 1979-1985
Coronal observations have been processed for parts of each year during the interval 1979-1985. Around sunspot maximum, coronal mass ejections (CMEs) occurred at the rate of approximately 2 per day, and had a wide range of physical and morphological properties. During the recent years of relatively low sunspot number, CMEs occurred at the rate of only 0.2 per day, and were dominated by the class of so-called streamer blowout. These special CMEs maintained a nearly constant occurrence rate of roughly 0.1 per day during the entire interval
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